2015 Reading List

Since it's new year, it's time for a "new-year-new-something-kind-of-posts", yes? So, now, obviously, I have here a list of books I look forward on reading this year. Usually, since I started reading 4 years ago, I've always been into Dystopian, Science-Fiction and Young-Adult Contemporary books. And Fantasy. But well, Fantasy is another story because I'm kinda tired of reading books with that genre, or maybe just those vampires, werewolves and fallen angels type of characters. I want to try other types of fantasy books. Anyway, my 2015 goal is to broaden the book genres that I get to read. I want to try genres such as Mystery, Thriller, Horror and Classic books. So this year, I'm like trying to get out of my comfort zone. Scary. But, any adventures with the involvement of books will surely be something I will enjoy.

P.S. My list still composes of those genres that I get used to read.

1. A Song of Ice and Fire by G.R.R. Martin – Does this ring a bell? Yes. It’s where the popular HBO tv series Game of Thrones is based. I really love this tv series wherein, yeah, basing on the title, it’s a game of thrones in the kingdom of Westeros. Anyway, it’s more than that. The book/tv series has impressively huge setting. And definitely, huge number of characters that when I first watched it, I was like, “Who’s this guy?” “Who is she again?” Lol. Now you might ask me, “Why read it when you’ve watched it already?” Well, as I have said, I love the tv series because it’s fantastic so I expect the book series has way more than what the tv series has offered and will offer in the future. So yeah, I am so reading this series. By the way, it’s fantasy. But no vampires and fallen angels, thankfully.  

2. The Young Elites  by Marie Lu – Another fantasy book! This is written by one of my favorite authors so this is definitely a priority. This book was released last quarter of 2014 and I don’t want to read it until I get my own copy. I’m actually waiting for my sister to gift it to me for my graduation hahaha! I have already heard a lot of great feed backs about this book and how much this book broke a lot of readers’ hearts and I’m really excited to get my heart broken, too.

3. Gillian Flynn books – Gillian Flynn is the author of the book Gone Girl which was already adapted into a movie last November 2014. I’ve read Gone Girl, and I’m telling you, it’s insaaaane! The mystery and the thrill were epic. So after reading one of her books, I’ve decided I want more of her wicked mind.

4. Stephen King books – I just know he’s famous for his Horror and Mystery books. So yeah. Lol. This was lame sorry sorry sorry

5. The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith – This was written by the queen J.K. Rowling but she used a pseudonym for a reason I am not aware of. Lol. A thriller book. Very different from her famous series Harry Potter. So I’m really curious on how was she able to execute on writing a different genre. Plus, my best friend told me it was great. What do you expect of J.K.? Excellence, of course. I hope it won’t disappoint.

6. The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon – Well, you know, I’m easily persuaded, influenced and convinced on what books to read by book reviews or by friends’ suggestions. And this book was suggested by my best friend and of course the way she reacted, the way she “sell” this book to me, I know it’s really good.

7. Classic books – It was last year when I decided it’s important for me to read classics. I’m an English Major. I’ve only read two classic books last year and some were left unfinished. Hahaha! So this year, I’ll really try to accomplish this goal. Some books I really want to read are Bronté Sisters’ and Jane Austen’s books, The Great Gatsby, The Great Expectation and a whole lot more.

Hmm, I guess that’s it? Is this even considered a list? Lol. The bottom line of this post is my 2015 will be spent with a lot of sleepless nights and just-staying-at-home kind of days. Okay. Bye!!!!

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay: Book Review

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.

Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.

Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances. 

My Thoughts:

“I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.”

“I don't really care what people say about me. I'm fine with lies and rumors. It's the truth I don't want being told.”

“Sometimes it's easier to pretend nothing is wrong than to face the fact that everything is wrong, but you're powerless to do anything about it.” 

What will you do if you have a horrible past? How would you deal with your present life if your past keeps on haunting you?

Nastya’s solution was to run. She decided to live with her aunt and go to school where everyone will never know who she was. Then she met Josh. Josh, on the other hand, was a lonely boy. Everyone he loved was permanently taken from him and at the age of seventeen, he’s just living on his own. Then apparently, Nastya ended up watching Josh at his garage every night. And then they became comfortable with each other and they developed a good friendship.

“We're like mysteries to one another. Maybe if I can solve him and he can solve me, we can explain each other. Maybe that's what I need. Someone to explain me.”

What I like – No, what I love about the book:

1. Mystery- Nastya was a great mystery for me. She’s like a puzzle I have to answer by turning the pages of this book. There were hints of her past but it was so vague that I couldn’t put the pieces together – and I loved it because it was the reason I was so hooked in the story. 

2. Josh Bennett- I can’t describe him really, when you love a fictional character, it’s unexplainable why you love him so much. And he has just been added to my ever growing list of fictional characters I wanted to marry. He’s on the top list!

3. Nastya and Josh- Obviously they’re love team here in this story and what I loved about their love story is that it wasn’t rush. They had a solid foundation -- friendship. They’re not one of those love stories in books that are quite impossible to happen in real life. 

4. Characters- I liked every character in this story, whether they had big part or not. But I’ll point out three characters I love. Drew was a total jackass at first but at the latter part of the book you’ll figure he’s not and you won’t question anymore why he’s Josh’s best friend. Clay was so damn good in drawing, He’s got no issues in this book and that’s what I like about his existence. He just draws and every drawing he has have an emotion on it. (heh feeling expert what do I know about drawing? None. Lol.) Margot- she’s Nastya’s aunt and I just like her because she said Josh was cute. Lol.

I still have a lot to say about how this book has just been my favorite stand-alone book but if I explain further, it would just be like this adssfdsgdfjghlh;ljkd;flgvkdxl/kvjds;kglhsd;iovjncxkvndskgjvnlkdjg;idjvg’dosgdo. BECAUSE I LOVED IT SO MUCH, I CAN’T DESCRIBE IT AT ALL.

If I could just give this book 10 star, I would. But it won’t be enough to what this book truly deserved. It’s not rate-able. Hahaha. I recommend this to everyone. Must read. Trust me.

This review was originally posted on my Goodreads account so check it out! This was my first ever legit book review. If you could consider this legit. Lol

Making Faces by Amy Harmon: Book Review

Synopsis: from Goodreads

Ambrose Young was beautiful. He was tall and muscular, with hair that touched his shoulders and eyes that burned right through you. The kind of beautiful that graced the covers of romance novels, and Fern Taylor would know. She'd been reading them since she was thirteen. But maybe because he was so beautiful he was never someone Fern thought she could have...until he wasn't beautiful anymore.
Making Faces is the story of a small town where five young men go off to war, and only one comes back. It is the story of loss. Collective loss, individual loss, loss of beauty, loss of life, loss of identity. It is the tale of one girl's love for a broken boy, and a wounded warrior's love for an unremarkable girl. This is a story of friendship that overcomes heartache, heroism that defies the common definitions, and a modern tale of Beauty and the Beast, where we discover that there is a little beauty and a little beast in all of us.




My Thoughts:
Heartbreaking and swoon-worthy at the same time. This doesn't just tackle “romantic” love. It talks about love in all its aspects. Friendship, family, God, special someone. It’s all about life and its irony and how to deal with it.

Favorite Character:

Bailey is my favorite character here. His unfortunate situation made him the great person he was. He looked at life in its positive side. He was the brighter side of this book. He made people around him realized that if life stole something from you, smile… And you’re the one who stole something from life.

Favorite Line:

Well, for a romance book like this, you’ll think my favorite line would be lines that made me swoon. Ambrose and Fern are such a lovely star-crossed lover and I soooo love them. But, my favorite line came from Bailey, Fern’s cousin and best friend.

“Fern didn't think she was good enough for you then, and you don't think you're good enough for her now. And both of you are wrong . . . and so stupid! Stuuupiiiid!” Bailey dragged the word out in disgust. “I'm ugly! I'm not worthy of love, waaa!””

I so feel Bailey here while reading the book because seriously, Ambrose and Fern? Stop whining about your looks and just love each other. I was really imagining him saying this, preaching to Ambrose and making him realize that love is not about the beauty outside, but the beauty found inside.

Favorite quotation:
This quote pretty much sums up the whole book.

“True beauty, the kind that doesn't fade or wash off, takes time. It takes pressure. It takes incredible endurance. It is the slow drip that makes the stalactite, the shaking of the Earth that creates mountains, the constant pounding of the waves that breaks up the rocks and smoothes the rough edges.
And from the violence, the furor, the raging of the winds, the roaring of the waters, something better emerges, something that would otherwise never exist.
“And so we endure. We have faith that there is purpose. We hope for things we can't see. We believe that there are lessons in loss, power in love, and that we have within us the potential for a beauty so magnificent that our bodies can't contain it.”

What this book has taught me:
1. Life is a total shit. But we all experience shits in life. We don’t get to choose what shit would bug our life or when will it happen. But all these craps are blessings in disguise because it will teach us lessons and eventually help us to be a grown-up person. 
2. We won’t experience happiness if we won’t experience sadness. We won’t feel hope if we won’t feel grief. Life always has two sides. One cannot be experienced without the other. 

It’s my first time to read an Amy Harmon novel and I’m impressed by how she writes. The POV is in third person but the emotions by the characters are still there and are felt through the bones. Sheezzzz. The FEELSSS are just extreme at this moment I am writing this review. Hahaha. And by the way, every chapter of this book has titles. It makes sense, of course. But at the last 2 or 3 chapters, the titles made more sense which makes me continuously nod for like 10 seconds upon reading it. So for my rating, I'm giving this book 5 of 5 stars. *throws confetti*

This review was originally posted on my Goodreads account :) Check it out!